Setting the Record Straight

If you’ve come to this blog, you’ve probably wondered just what our intentions were when we named it “JK Harris Uncovered.”

What are we trying to “uncover”? It’s simple. There is a lot of information on the Internet that paints JK Harris in a way we feel is not entirely fair. We are by no means trying to say we don’t make mistakes and don’t have room for improvement, but on the other hand, we want to give you the facts regarding some frequent misconceptions about our company so you can make up your own mind.

Below are some top issues, we’d like to clear up for you once and for all.

Point
• JK Harris customers post messages on a lot of Internet complaint sites talking about how the company treated or mistreated them. Why has JK Harris dropped the ball, lost my paperwork or failed to resolve my case?

Counter Point
• It is true that the Internet is full of consumer forums, which include comments made by former and present JK Harris customers. We can tell you some of the information included on these forums is true –there have been times where we did drop the ball and could have done a better job for the client. We are making major strides in improving delivery of services to our customers and we feel our service has become better than ever. Excellent customer service is and will continue to be the focus of our entire company.

• On the other hand, we have found most of the folks complaining about us on the Internet did not participate in the processing of their tax resolution case, and we never had the chance to help them. Either we didn’t get their information (paperwork), or they didn’t respond to our letters, phone calls or emails. Also, many of them didn’t give us truthful information when they contracted with us, although they signed paperwork stating what they gave us was truthful.

• We receive complaints for the number of times we must request updated financial paperwork from our clients. Please understand this is an IRS requirement. To resolve a client’s tax issues, we must constantly request up to date financial information from our clients in order to help them. The vast majority of the time it is not due to paperwork being mishandled or lost, but due to the fact we must comply with IRS requirements and provide them with current financial information. This is where clients must assist us in the process so we may get them the resolution they are seeking.

• We are not out to blame our customers for any of our problems, but we do want to put out the truth where it is necessary. Please keep in mind going out on the Internet and saying what you want is not regulated – it’s kind of like the wild, wild west. There is no one out there checking on the validity of these complaints.

Point
• JK Harris has settled a class-action lawsuit, an 18-state Attorneys General investigation and other various legal actions in the last two years. Why was JK Harris sued and why did JK Harris settle if they felt their case was so strong?

Counter Point
• It is true that JK Harris did settle a class-action lawsuit and an Attorneys General investigation. The reason we settled was simple: In today’s litigious society, it has become much better for companies to settle these type of actions instead of trying to fight a long, extended battle in court. And most of the time, it’s better for the company and its clients if closure can be brought about on these issues sooner rather than later. Lastly, from a financial standpoint, it’s much less expensive to settle these issues than try and fight them in court. The more expenses we incur, the more we have to charge our customers for our services. We made the decision to settle these issues so our company could provide closure to them for our employees and our customers.

• During the negotiations of these matters (the AG negotiations took almost four years and the class action suit took over two years), we were already operating under the terms of the final settlement, which ended up being finalized years later. Before the announcements of these settlements, in showing good faith in our negotiations, we were already operating by the terms of the agreements that eventually were approved in a court of law.

• Most of the issues in these settlements had to do with our advertising and marketing practices. Again, these matters have been cleared up and we are honoring the terms we agreed to.

• Some issues had to do with our operations and sales departments. We are honoring those terms set forth in those agreements as well.

Point
• JK Harris never gave me a refund or won’t give me a refund although I’ve agreed to their refund determination.

Counter Point
• JK Harris’ refund policy is on all of our contracts. Unfortunately, many of our customers are unaware of our policy. While one can argue that we can do a better job of explaining our refund process to our prospective customers, one could also argue that all of the terms and conditions of our refund policy are explained in all of our disclosures on our contract.

• All clients, once they receive our refund determination letter, are entitled to reconsideration. We invite any customer who doesn’t like their initial determination to send in a request for reconsideration and reasons why they think we are wrong. Lastly, all of our contracts are subject to binding arbitration. If the client doesn’t agree with our determination, or reconsideration determination, each client’s contract is subject to binding arbitration with the National Arbitration Forum. This is a great option to choose if the client feels the refund determination is not fair. The NAF is an impartial third-party organization, which has no allegiances to either JK Harris or the customer. Their allegiances lie with getting to the truth and fairness of the matter.

Point
• The BBB has given JK Harris a rating of “F” on its website. How can you defend that rating?

Counter Point
• Let’s talk about the BBB. They are a for-profit organization that has no connection to the government and is not sanctioned by the government. Businesses must pay to be a member of the Better Business Bureau. Many years ago we chose not to join an organization that makes you pay to be a member so customers are able to check out your record. We feel since we made that decision many years ago, the BBB has treated us unfairly.

• If you go to the BBB website, you’ll see that there are over 800 complaints. That is a lot, but keep in mind it is over a three-year period when we’ve contracted over 75,000 clients. These complaints, while we take them seriously and do everything we can to work with these customers, represent 1.1% of our customer base during that three-year period.

• The BBB suggests readers consider a company’s size and scope, however, they obviously don’t follow their own advice since the number of complaints we have is much less than many other industry leaders.

Point
• Your employees never return customers’ calls and never answer them, either.

Counter Point
• Over a year ago, we instituted a team queue for anyone calling into JK Harris. If the caller couldn’t get to their Case Specialist, they would be automatically transferred to another member of their Case Specialist’s team. Since we did this, we have averaged answering the phone with a “live” person over 97% of the time. There is room for improvement, but how many large companies do you call and get a live person 97% of the time by the second ring?

• Sometimes our employees neglect to call their customers back. Unfortunately, this does happen. We have implemented many reports recently that can provide us this information, and it has allowed us to train our employees better and put more emphasis on helping our clients with their questions. We realize there is room for improvement, and if you’re not happy with the assistance you’re getting from one of our employees, we encourage you to call 1-888-833-5156, ext. 2265 or go to our web site and enter a complaint on the “existing customer” tab. Your issue will be brought to the Supervisor and Vice-President who is overseeing your case.

Point
• My Consultant told me one thing; but yet I’ve been told something totally different by your Operations team.

Counter Point
• Our Consultants do everything they can to ensure they are providing the client with the best solution possible for their scenario. Sometimes there can be misunderstandings between what was said or done. However, we do everything we can to make sure our customers have the right expectations by providing a Welcome Call once the Case Specialist gets the case. In addition, our Welcome Letter, which goes out to each client within days of signing our contract, includes a list of client expectations.

• Our clients provide information to our Consultants, which allows our Consultants to recommend a solution based on that information. Sometimes, when the client sends in their documentation, that information doesn’t always match the information provided to the Consultant at the initial consultation. When this happens, it can alter the estimate of the resolution amount or even the recommended resolution.

• We have a contract review team that goes through all of our contracts to make sure we have recommended the right product for the right reason and for the right situation.

• Lastly, we “shop” our Consultants each year by using an independent company. These shopping events provide feedback to us in written form and with audio. If we find mistakes made by the Consultants, we will provide feedback to the consultant, and in some occasions, if we feel the Consultant did anything to misrepresent our company, we may terminate that Consultant.

Point
• When I call the IRS to inquire about my case, they say they have no record of JK Harris representing me. Why is this?

Counter Point
• When someone signs up for services with JK Harris, the Case Specialist will have their client sign a Power of Attorney or Form 2848. This form allows one of our Enrolled Agents, CPAs or attorneys to act as the representative to the IRS. The Power of Attorney cannot be filed in the name of our company, JK Harris. The Power of Attorney lists the individual Licensed Taxpayer Representative who is working personally on getting the client’s case resolved. The client may or may not know the name of this person. The form does not list that they work for JK Harris and Company, only the fact they are working as the Power of Attorney. Just because the IRS says they haven’t heard from JK Harris doesn’t mean they haven’t heard from someone at JK Harris who is advocating for and representing the client.